Global Study Discovers That Silent Lung Damage in COVID-19 Survivors Still Lingers Long After Recovery
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jul 26, 2025 9 hours, 52 minutes ago
Thailand Medical News: Many COVID Survivors Still Struggle to Breathe Normally Months Later
A groundbreaking global study has revealed that many people who recover from COVID-19 continue to suffer from silent yet persistent lung damage, especially difficulties in gas exchange. The research analyzed lung function data from over 570 COVID-19 survivors across eight international centers and compared them to 72 healthy individuals who were never infected.
Global Study Discovers That Silent Lung Damage in COVID-19 Survivors Still Lingers Long After Recovery
The team of scientists from institutions including the University of California Davis (USA), IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino (Italy), University Hospitals of Paris Seine-Saint-Denis (France), University Hospital Complex of Vigo (Spain), University of Sydney (Australia), University of Milano (Italy), Rigshospitalet Copenhagen (Denmark), and Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS (Italy) uncovered worrying signs of long-term respiratory issues using advanced lung testing techniques. This
Thailand Medical News report delves into how the study utilized a powerful diagnostic tool called the NO-CO double diffusion technique to assess pulmonary gas exchange more precisely than traditional methods.
What Is the NO-CO Double Diffusion Technique
Unlike standard tests, which often only measure carbon monoxide diffusion (DLCO), this method also includes nitric oxide diffusion (DLNO), offering a clearer view of how the lungs’ membranes and blood vessels perform in gas exchange. In this study, researchers found that nearly 60% of post-COVID patients had abnormally low lung diffusion capacity, even months after infection—indicating long-lasting damage to the lung’s delicate gas-exchanging surfaces.
The study found that when DLNO and DLCO results were combined into a single score, doctors could more accurately identify patients with impaired lung function. This combined metric outperformed traditional tests and proved especially valuable in linking physical lung impairment with symptoms like breathlessness.
Link Between Lung Impairment and Breathlessness Confirmed
One of the key findings was the correlation between impaired gas exchange and the severity of dyspnoea (breathlessness), measured using the mMRC (modified Medical Research Council) scale. Over 300 patients were evaluated for how their symptoms matched their lung function scores. The study showed that worse diffusion metrics often predicted more severe dyspnoea—offering a vital tool for clinicians to objectively assess patient suffering.
The Road Ahead in Lung Health Monitoring Post COVID
To ensure fairness across populations, the study only included white patients due to the lack of validated reference data for other groups, which the researchers noted as a limitation. Still, the findings offer a valuable starting point for future diagnostic guidelines and underscore the importance of continued monito
ring for COVID-19 survivors.
In conclusion, the research highlights that even after physical recovery, many individuals still live with invisible lung damage that affects their quality of life. These lingering respiratory issues may not show up on standard tests but can now be better detected using improved techniques. This calls for wider adoption of dual diffusion lung testing in clinics to support earlier intervention and rehabilitation for long COVID sufferers.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Data in Brief
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925006493
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